Fire at Winpak plant caught early; $10,000 damage

PEKIN (GHMI) — The sharp eye of a Winpak employee saved the company from a possible catastrophe Thursday evening.

Pekin firefighters were called to the Winpak plant, 1821 Riverway Drive, about 8:40 p.m. Thursday after an employee spotted smoke coming from the roof on the north side of the plant.

When firefighters arrived, they found a piece of plywood burning on the roof, which had ignited some rubber roofing material, said Pekin Fire Department Assistant Chief Rick Bowman.

The Winpak plant is undergoing an expansion, and a construction crew had been working on the roof earlier in the day using either a cutting torch or a welder on a piece of duct work. The fire was put out in about 20 minutes.

Bowman said a hot ember from the work likely landed on the wood, which smoldered before igniting after the construction crew left at 4 p.m. Bowman estimated the damage at about $10,000.